Pot cleaning devices



July 12, 1960 E. c. FOSTER ETAL 2,944,271

POT CLEANING DEVICES Filed Nov. 18. 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 :9 T INVENTORS.

" ELMER C FOSTER,

FRANCES 0. FOSTER and LEO FOSTER July 12, 1961) E. c. FOSTER ETAL 2,944,271

POT CLEANING DEVICES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 18, 195'? INVENTORS.

ELMER c. FOSTER FRANCES o. FOSTER an LEO F TER ORNEY 2,944,211 ro'r CLEANING DEVICES,

United States Patent Elmer c. Foster, Plymouth County, and Frances o.

Foster and Leo Foster, SulIolk County, Mass, asslgnors to Fremlee Development Corporation, Dorchester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts I Filed Nov. 18, 1951, S01. No. 696,973 4 Claims. 01. 15-28 This invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning pots and similar utensils. In particular it relates to a safe, reliable mechanical device for rapidly cleaning and scouring such utensils.

Because of the heat-hardening of food stuff upon their surfaces, cooking utensils cannot be cleaned solely by agitation in a detergent-water bath, the principle of automatic dish washers. Hand scouring with brushes, metal wool and similar aids is required in addition, to remove the food deposits or scum in cooling utensils. Prior to this invention no reliable mechanical device was available which could be used by the ordinary person in a safe and rapid manner to clean cooking utensils.

The present invention provides such a device. It comprises a motor selected or'fgeared down so that its shaft rotates in the order of magnitude of 150-300 revolutions a minute, a slip clutch with one side attached to the motor shaft, a flexible cable shaft attached to the other end of the slip clutch, a flexible waterproof sheath co-' extensive with and surrounding the flexible cable shaft, a bearing-handle through which the cable shaft passes and a scourin'gunit coupled to the cable shaft The motor is mounted on a permanent fixture or supporting member so as to be shielded from any splashing of water or detergent. Where the device is to be used in conjunction with a sink or adjacent surface, the sheathed cable shaft extends through an aperture in the sink, and retractile spring means are provided so that the sheathed cable shaft will be automatically stored behind the aperture when not in use.

The flexible sheath is constructed of waterproof material such as rubber or plastic tube and is made to form a loose fit around the cable shaft. The friction from a tight fit causes heavy power loss and the tightness of such a lfit lowers the flexibility of the assembly. A lubricated tight fit will provide some scouring action though less effective than a loose fit but also waste power, is less flexible to handle, and is far less reliable in performance than a loose fit.

The scouring units'comprise natural or synthetic bristle heads, metallic wool heads (such as steel or copper) or textile or paper wads, as may be desirable. Special heads may be designed for odd shape utensils such as baby milk bottles. It in contemplated that the securing unit can be either permanent, have replaceable heads or have replaceable scouring pads and that detergent or scouring powder may or may not be included. The shape of the scouring unit can be flared out or straight, such being a matter of choice.

In operation, the motor is started by a switch, which, if manual, is placed in an accessible location, and the operator simply manipulates the rotating scouring unit in the utensil, together with any desired or required water and detergent. If the operators hand accidentally contacts the rotating scouring end, the hand pressure can,

stop the motion because of the slip clutch. The scouring action is both swift and eflicient, and can be carried out with minimal amounts of water and no splashing.

In the drawings forming a part hereof,

Figurel is a perspective view of one embodiment of this invention as mounted through a sink.

Figure 2 is aback view partly broken away of the embodiment of Figure l. r

Figure 2a is a sectional view of supporting socket.

Figure 3 is a view of the device apart from its mount- Figure 4 is a view of the brush unit partly broken away coupled into the bearing handle.

Figure 5 a perspective view of a scouring unit designed especially for cleaning narrow-mouth containers In the embodiment shown in Figures l-4, the electric motor 11 drives a'gear reduction unit 12 so that the rotation of the output shaft 13 of the gear reduction unit is about 220 revolutions per minute. Shaft 13 is connected to one side of a slip clutch 14, said clutch being, for example, model 8100 of Supreme Products Co. On the other side of slip clutch 14 is fastened a flexible rotatable cable shaft 15 which extends in to the bearing handle 18 in which it is coupled by coupling 37 to the finger 35 of brush unit 19 which is detachably seated in the socket position 36 of the handle 18. Surrounding the cable shaft 15 is a waterproof flexible sheath 16 which forms a loose fit around the cable and extends coextensively from the slip clutch 14 to the bearing handle 18. Bearing handle 18 is somewhat stifi to allow proper gripping. The device is shown retractibly mounted on a sink 20 having a common type faucet 21, by means of a supporting socket 22 having an upper collar section 24 and a narrower bottom section 26. In collar 24 is a switch 27 having a finger 28 which extends into the collar cavity and which activates motor 11 through wires 29 when the finger 28 is freeto extend into the cavity by the removal of the handle 18 (Fig. 2a). Thus the motor is On when the finger extends into the collar cavity (Fig. 2). The bearing handle 18 being enlarged will seat in the cavity of collar 24 and thus open the switch and shut off the motor by pressing the finger 28 out of the cavity. The power supply for motor 11 comes through wires 30. A separate switch (not shown) is provided for control of power supply 10 wires 30. Automatic retraction is provided by a bottom spring 31, connected between 31a on the sink and the lower portion of sheath 16, and by a top spring 32 connected between 32a and the upper portion of sheath 16.

The bottle 40 in Figure 5 is shown engaged by a foamcovered scouring unit 33 enveloped with towel-like fabric 34.

While the preferred embodiment of our invention has been described in detail, it will be understood that we do not wish to be limited to the particular construction set forth, since various changes in the form, material, proportions, and arrangements of parts, and in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, or destroying any of the advantages contained in the same, heretofore described and defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A utensil cleaning device, comprising a motor means arranged to have its shaft rotatable at a speed in the order of magnitude of -300 revolutions a minute, slip clutch means attached on one side to said motor shaft and on the other side to a flexible rotatable cable shaft, a flexible waterproof sheath coextensive with and surrounding the flexible cable shaft, a bearing handle within which the cable shaft terminates, and a rotatable scouring unit coupled to the cable shaft termination, said handle being positioned in an aperture on a sink, said aperture containing an upper collar section and a lower aperture, the upper end of said cable shaft terminating M within a bearing-handle in a rotatable coupled scouring unit, the diameter of said handle being smaller than the diameter of said upper section and larger than the diameter of said bottom section of said aperture, said upper section containing a spring actuated switch having a finger extending into said upper section, the lower end of said cable shaft being provided with retractile means tending to pull' said handle towards the rear and terminating on oneside of a slip clutch whose other side is attached to the shaft of a motor means mounted in fixed position, said motor means being so arranged that its shaft is rotatable at a speed in the order of magnitude of 150-300 revolutions a minute, said switch being operated by said handle moving vertically in and out of said aperture. t

3. A utensil cleaning device, comprising a motor means arranged to have its shaft rotatable at a speed in the order of magnitude of 150400 revolutions a minute, slip clutch means attached on one side to said motor shaft and on the other side to a flexible rotatable cable shaft, a flexible waterproof sheath coextensive with and surrounding the flexible cable shaft, a bearing handle within which the cable shaft terminates, and a rotatable scouring unit coupled to the cable shaft termination; said sheath forming a loose fit around said cable shaft, said handle being positioned in an aperture on a sink, said aperture containing an upper collar section and a lower narrower bottom section, said handle being smaller than the diameter of said upper section, said upper section containing a spring actuated switch having a finger extending into said upper collar section, said switch being operated by said handle moving vertically in and out of said aperture.

4. In combination, a sink structure provided with a sink and an aperture, saidaperture containing an upper collar section and a lower narrower bottom section, a flexible rotary cable shaft surrounded by a coextensive flexible waterproof sheath and extending through said aperture, the upper end of said cable shaft terminating within a bearing-handle in a rotatable coupled scouring unit, the diameter of said handle being smaller than the diameter of said upper section and larger than the diameter of said bottom section of said aperture, said upper section containing a spring actuated switch having a finger extending into said upper section, the lower end of said aperture.

' said cable shaft being provided with retractile means tending to pull said handle towards the rear and terminating on one side of a slip clutch whose other side-is attached to the shaft of a motor means mounted in fixed position, said "motor means being so arranged that its shaft is rotatable at a speed in the order of magnitude of -300 revolutions a minute; said sheath forming a loose fit around said cable shaft, said switch being operated by said handle moving vertically in and out of References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OLeary Aug. 11, 1942 

